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On August 6, Mauritanian President General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appeared [ar] on national television. During that televised appearance, police assaulted [ar] a journalist while he was covering the arrest [ar] of, and the aggression towards a guest who called upon the General to leave. Mauritanian Twitter users followed the events in real time, and reacted via the hash tag #مسرحية _الجنرال [ar] (The General's Play).

All this took place during a live transmitted and long TV show under the title “Encounter with the People.” The televised appearance [of the President] coincided with the anniversary of the 2008 coup d'état, which led to the overthrow of Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Mauritania's first civil and elected President.

The President was insulting the opposition, and accused it of serving the interests of foreign parties. He also ridiculed the opposition's demand which called upon the regime to leave. The Movement of Mauritanian Youth [ar] staged several protests against the televised appearance of the General, and called for the fall of his regime. Dozens of I.R.A.[Abolitionist movement in Mauritania] activists staged a protest [ar] in front of the Justice Ministry building, and the Mauritanian Radio headquarters in protest against the President's slavery declarations during the TV show. They considered his statements as a denial of slavery in public, while standing by the side of slave owners in private.

@KHjdoud : Poor Musaylimah [known as "the Liar", he claimed to be a Prophet], now we have someone who lies more than him. The knowledgeable deserves to be included in an international encyclopedia, and to be considered as a role model for Arabs.

Ahmed Ould Ennahoui mentioned a caller who accused the General of lying: